VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Lolium multiflorum | Italian Ryegrass 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Italian ryegrass is an important forage crop for livestock [53].

Meadow mice and white-tailed deer graze Italian ryegrass [38,47].


PALATABILITY : 
Italian ryegrass is palatable to livestock [53].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Italian ryegrass is highly nutritious [53].  Fresh, early bloom, aerial
portions of Italian ryegrass average 8.1 percent ash, 30.1 percent crude
fiber, 5.8 percent protein, 55.2 nitrogen-free extract, and 0.8 percent
ether extract (dry weight).  Nutritional values for other Italian
ryegrass growth stages and for hay are reported [68].  The influence of
shading, sward density, and nitrogen fertilizer on Italian ryegrass
nutritive value is reported [36].


COVER VALUE : 
Italian ryegrass is considered poor cover for small mammals and
waterfowl in Montana [13].

Pocket gophers increase in areas seeded with Italian ryegrass, possibly
because of increased cover [57].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Italian ryegrass is a quick, effective groundcover for erosion control
and as a winter cover crop [25].  It is often used for temporary erosion
control; it does not generally persist in cold ecosystems such as in
Alaska, nor does it tend to spread into adjacent undisturbed areas [12].
It has a lower pH limit of 4.5.  Seeding rates are described [63].

Seeding of Italian ryegrass is often followed by seeding with perennial
species the following year.  If seeded together, Italian ryegrass often
outcompetes the perennials [25,63].

Although Italian ryegrass is one of the most commonly used grasses for
revegetating burned sites, its use is controversial.  Discussion of this
controversy is in FIRE MANAGEMENT.


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Italian ryegrass is used as turf grass in the southern United States [17].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Italian ryegrass is grown for winter pasture, hay, and silage.  In the
United States it is cultivated primarily on the Atlantic Coast, in
southern humid areas, and on the Pacific Coast west of the Cascade Range
and Sierra Nevada.  There are over 150 recognized cultivars of Italian
and perennial ryegrasses.  Planting and harvesting methods are discussed
[17].  Nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium are required for high quality
Italian ryegrass production [49].

Italian ryegrass is a serious weed in cereal crops and grass seed crops
[51,54].  In western Oregon, where most of the Italian ryegrass seed is
produced, seed remains dormant in the cold, wet soil during winter and
then volunteers in crops when fields are plowed.  Diclofop has been an
effective herbicide, but Italian ryegrass is gaining resistance to it
[51].  Italian ryegrass cultivars have also developed a tolerance of the
herbicide fenoxaprop [27].

Related categories for Species: Lolium multiflorum | Italian Ryegrass